Going green, saving the planet and practicing other eco-friendly ways of being environmentally conscience have unfortunately, never really been my thing. There’s no good reason; I paid attention in science class, listen to the ads and know the benefits of taking care of our environment. However, I’ve always been the type of person who participates when it’s convenient. It’s not ignorance, but probably rather pure laziness. How terrible is that?

At the beginning of this year, I made a resolution to be more environmentally conscience. Perhaps it’s the new “Go Green” committee I was forced to joined at work. Either way, I know my college roommate who insisted we recycle has a huge smile on her face. (Hi Michelle! :))

Determined to find new ways of going green, I discovered Nuride. For those of you who need a little motivation and have a long commute to work each day, this is the perfect site for you.

For every day you use public transportation, carpool or walk, Nuride tracks the money you save, the emissions you prevent and your NuRide points. Points? Yes. Redeemable for restaurant coupons, retail discounts, tickets to shows and attractions, and more.

After setting up your FREE profile, simply track your commute (in miles) per method of transportation. I entered my commute to and from work as a Monday through Friday route, and now the site tracks my money saved, emissions prevented and points every day automatically. I check back every once in a while to see how many points I’ve earned — in the past month since I’ve been a member, I’ve saved $219.81, prevented 936.7 pounds of volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide and other emissions, and have earned 2,400 points.

The more points you earn, the more awards become available to you. Rewards range from things like $10 off Dave & Buster’s, free subs at Quizno’s, and 15% Green Mountain Coffee, to discounts at smaller places like florists, restaurants, and cafes that are local to you. Some rewards I’m keeping my eye on, for example, are free meals at Cheers Boston, coupons for a cute little tea house near the train station and tickets to Mystic Seaport attractions.

Nuride isn’t available everywhere, but they’re continuing to expand. If you see you city or state listed below, I suggest you check it out.

For some, I’m sure driving is the only feasible option of getting to work. But perhaps you have a colleague who lives close by? Nuride can help companies and businesses launch their very own carpool system. I haven’t looked too much into it since I’m already commuting on public transit on my own, but I do know it’s worth a lot of Nuride points!